Society, post-Thatcher?

The day after the ceremonial funeral of Baroness “there is no such thing as society” Thatcher, here is something to challenge each of us.  How many of your neighbours can you name?  Do you know anything about them, beyond that quaint English nod and half-smile when you see them?  Or have you lived alongside familiar strangers maybe for years?

The irony is that so many of our unknown neighbours are likely to be on Facebook, Twitter or other social media. So, in pursuit of ‘community’ online, we tend to neglect the real community literally on our doorsteps. 

A few years ago, Sikh neighbours 4 houses away had a fire which badly damaged their first floor.  It required two fire crews to put it out. The following morning I pushed a card through their front door, expressing our sense of shock and offering practical help. The door flew open and an angry housewife demanded to know what the card was.  As I explained, her face changed from suspicion to amazement. She and her husband later shared that that was the first card they had received from neighbours in decades.

Which is why, despite the risk of cheesiness, I applaud GOOD magazine (www.good.is) which has decided to do something about our lack of neighbourliness.  They've announced a new global holiday: Neighbour Day, falling on Saturday 27^th April.  Sure, it’s a flimsy reason for just getting to reach out and introduce yourself to neighbours but at least it is action of a sort.  Here’s what they suggest to get us started:

1. Download their Neighbourhood Toolkit here to kickstart your action - yes it's American but try to cope.

2. Help them document what Neighbourday looks like, feels like and sounds like to set the example for years to come. Tweet and Instagram with #neighborday if you want to contribute to their collaborative Neighbourday Documentary.

3. Spread the word. Tell your friends,family and church that Saturday 27 April is global Neighbourday.